


The Gathering

by SucroseElytra



Series: Blood Runs Pink [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Captivity, Forced to kill, Gen, Gun Violence, How do I tag that, Human Furniture, Humiliation, I'm Bad At Tagging, Minor Character Death, Psychological Torture, Sadism, Stockholm Syndrome, Torture, Whump, it's as bad as the tags make it sound yes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25239505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SucroseElytra/pseuds/SucroseElytra
Summary: Dollface considers it a reward. Micah considers it hell on Earth.
Series: Blood Runs Pink [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669495
Kudos: 3





	1. Walk

"Don't, please- please, d-don't do this. You don't have to, please," Micah tried to plead with his captor. He had been thrown into the trunk of a car and driven around for hours. Now, with the trunk open and his abductor holding a blunt object, he had a pretty good guess as to what would come next. 

They were in some parking garage. The cars littering it were few and far between, every one of them expensive. The idealist in him said id he screamed loud enough, someone might hear him. The realist told him that there was no chance. 

"I don't have to, sure, but wouldn't it be so fun?" Dollface gave Micah a sickly sweet look as she taunted him, "Besides, how can I trust you not to run away?" 

"I- I promise I won't!" He could feel the tears trail down his face. "Please, I'll do whatever you say, just pl- _ please  _ don't do this," His pleading was interrupted with a sob breaking past his lips. 

"Don't you worry, angel, it's not any pain you can't handle." She smiled down at him one last time before bringing the bat down hard on his left ankle. Micah wailed at the pain. There was a sickening crack of bone as the joint shattered upon impact. Before he would get a word out, his other ankle suffered the same fate. 

He didn't want to look down at them. He knew the sight would be horrid, the look of this own ankles shattered- he couldn't bear to think about it. Too bad that the sadist holding him captive had more in mind. 

Micah let out a yelp of pain when she pulled him to his feet, forcing him to stand. Every instinct in his body commanded him to get off the injuries, but she made it clear she wanted him to stand- holding him in such a way that he couldn't collapse if he needed to. 

"Tell you what-" Dollface unsheathed the knife from under her skirt, "-I'll tell you where to go- if you can walk there without falling, I'll let you kneel once we're inside." Micah was desperate for some kind of reprive from the pain, so he nodded and tried to take a step. 

Dollface placed the knife to his back to guide him, pressing it into him whenever she thought he was walking too slow. In these seemingly endless corridors, the agony surging through Micah's legs was getting unbearable. The only thing that kept him upright was his knowledge that things would only get worse if he failed. 

By the time they reached the locked door, he was moments away from collapsing to the floor. Seconds felt like minutes as they headed inside. Now, Dollface was leading him by his wrist. He looked down at her desperately, silently asking her to fulfill her promise. She smiled and nodded, so Micah instantly collapsed to his knees. 

The bliss from being taken off his fresh injures was enough for him to forget that he was still in danger as she half-dragged him across the room. When he finally came back to reality, he realized how  _ that  _ was just the beginning. 

There were so many people just like him, kept on leashes, and restrained- some were injured. But even scarier- there were people like  _ her.  _ People that were hitting around these terrified human pets. 

In a moment of pure fear and panic, Micah found himself clinging to the edge of Dollface's skirt. She looked down at him- almost confused before she realized that he was just scared. Gently, she ran her fingers through his dark matted hair. 

It was strangely comforting. All of this was new- but not Dollface. Micah knew what to expect from her. 

And a little bit of familiarity is nice. 


	2. Target Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dollface has some not-so-nice friends.

Micah hated it here. He never thought he'd see the day in which miss the torture chamber he was now forced to call home. But even still, Micah vastly preferred his cell to this place. He never thought Dollface had any friends-- he didn't know she could; couldn't understand how anyone could get along with that sadist. It only made sense when he realized that they were just like her. They all thrived on cruelty and violence. And unfortunately for him, he would be stuck at the epicenter of all of it. 

A thick piece of fabric had been wrapped tightly around his head, blocking his vision. Three people he couldn't see led him outside. He could only assume that one of them was Dollface. His suspicions were confirmed when she spoke. Far too nervous and afraid to make out the words, but he could recognize the voice in half a heartbeat. He had never heard the two with her. One man and one woman-- or maybe 'girl' is a more accurate term. The other girl sounded young. Barely post-pubescent, even. He was trying not to eavesdrop as felt like he wasn't allowed to- like someone would punish him for it. But one thing the young-sounding said stuck out to him.

"I've never actually fired a gun before. Hard to believe, right?" 

A gun? Oh god, what were they going to do to him? He didn't want to listen in, but a primal part of him commanded it. 

"I wouldn't worry about it," The man started, "it's not hard." He sounded older. In his early thirties, maybe late twenties. The inflection of his voice reminded Micah of Dollface. He couldn't explain it, exactly. They just had a similar vibe. 

"Let's hope you're a better shot than me," Dollface laughed, and the man joined her. Her voice alone was enough to send a shockwave of fear down his spine. It was so associated with the everlasting pain at this point that he couldn't help it. 

They finally made it outside, and the hot sun gleamed down on Micah's face. It had to have been summer by now; late July, based on the temperature alone. It had been so long since he has last seen the sun. For a brief second, everything felt nice. The soft grass was a sadly forgotten yet welcome feeling. His slight moment of bliss shattered when his captor began to speak to him. 

"I need you to stay right here on your knees. Try not to move, honey." Her all too familiar saccharine tone of voice reminded him that he was still in danger. 

He nodded. His mind wandered back to the gun. Were they going to kill him? Was it wrong that a part of him was thankful it would be by gunshot? In Dollface's possession, a shot through the head seemed merciful. 

He should be more afraid to die. But he's not. Maybe he's still in denial that Doll is going to kill him. 

"Here, lemme show you how to do it, Kerina." The man spoke. Kerina. Must be that young girl's name. Micah was trying to distract himself over the sound of the barrel of a revolver spinning. "One- front sight," A moment of silence, "Two- controlled trigger press--" 

The second the words escaped his mouth, the earsplitting sound of a gunshot filled the air. Micah could feel his heart skip a beat as the bullet sped through the air next to him at the speed of sound. But he wasn't hit. Didn't stop him from tensing up as if to brace for the pain to come. 

"Three- follow through." He finished.

"Okay! Let me try! I think I get it!" The girl- Kerina- jumped. Micah was expecting another shot. Surely it wouldn't be as bad. "Alright, uh, front sight... trigger press--" 

This time, immediately following the loud shot, his shoulder blade erupted with a wave of pain. He whimpered and doubled over, not quite finding the strength in him to scream. 

"Whoops," Kerina seemed more shocked than remorseful. Doll and the man were laughing at the mistake. 

"Okay, maybe I should be more cleat-" He said through stifled laughs, "'front sight' means aim." Micah's adrenaline was pumping enough to numb the pain of the bullet wound. It was bad enough when one person was reveling in his pain, but now there were three.

"But hey, still a better shot than Doll." He teased. 

"I can't even defend myself since it's kinda true," Micah had never heard her joking like that before. She was always so ethereal and elegant. It almost seemed unreal. 

"I wanna see you try!" Was Kerina always this enthusiastic? Or was she just cruel? It's not like Micah was in any position to ask. 

"Yeah, Doll, just try not to hit yourself this time." The man appended, dripping with sarcasm. 

"Don't you take that tone with me, Anthony, I was eighteen--" 

"Still managed to take a bullet to the knee-" 

They continued to bicker like siblings. Siblings. That's what it was. Well, at least it was Micah's best guess as to why they sounded so alike. They could be brother and sister. He hadn't seen Anthony yet, but he pictures him as just a masculine version of Dollface. 

"Alright, just don't say I didn't warn you." Micah was terrified. Of course, he was, he could only assume that he was about to be shot for the second time in a few minutes. This time, there was no warning nor countdown- just a gunshot and then hurt. This time, the pain flowered out from his stomach. He could almost feel the led stuck in his flesh. And two open, bleeding wounds combined with the broilingly hot sun beating down on his face did not make a comfortable experience. 

The sun was pleasant at first, a hint of warmth in a cold world. But then it felt more and more like how he always used to remember it as he became aware of his situation. With no time to look at the silver lining, he couldn't feel any gentle warmth- just heat. The searing, burning fire from the Arizona sun was burning into his skin, and he was seconds away from breaking down sobbing. 

"Jesus Doll, did you even try?" Kerina borderline shouted.

"Yeah, you know you're not supposed to hit the person, right?" The man- er, Anthony- added. 

"Alright, alright, I get it- I'm a terrible shot," Dollface laughed as she walked over to her captive, "But I need to get him inside before he bleeds out and dies."

It was all so casual. As if it was no big deal.


	3. Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dollface and Kerina have a little fun with Micah's innocence.

Dollface isn't even five feet tall. Micah knew that, but for so long, his entire world had been at her level. Every part of his world had been at her eye line. But now they've left that bubble. 

Micah wasn't sure where he was. It couldn't belong to the other girl with them- many things were out of her reach as well. He thought he recognized her voice, and his suspicions were confirmed when Dollface called her by name. 

Kerina. 

The girl from before. The one who shot him. For the first time, he got a good look at her. She looked young. Really young. Like a teenager. Somewhere around five and a half feet tall. With dark skin and darker coily hair pulled into a bun atop her head. Aside from a white apron tied at her waist, she dressed in mostly red. 

She and Dollface were chatting idly about nothing in particular. He tried to listen in, attempting to distract himself from the unconscious boy in the room. 

Well, maybe "boy" isn't the right word. A stark contrast to the adolescent girl- this man must have been middle-aged. Knocked out cold and bleeding from the head, the sight sent a shiver down Micah's spine. He knew that he was alive, at least. He could see him breathing. His captor must have been looking at the man too when she commented on him. 

"Kory, exactly how old is he?" Dollface asked. 

"Hm?" Kerina looked up from fiddling with a tripod, "Oh! Yeah, James is fifty-six." James. The unconscious man is James. He was much older than Micah. He was getting lost in his thoughts, but Kerina spoke again, "He's the CEO of some sales company. He believes in trickle-down economics and pays women less than men. Hey, can you get me the camera?" 

"Yeah, sure."

Damn. Sure, James was a shitty guy, but he didn't deserve this. Well, Micah didn't exactly know what this was, but he knew that it couldn't be pleasant. If Kerina was anything like Dollface, this poor man could get seriously hurt. 

Hm? Why's she laughing..? 

"Can you not reach, Doll?" Kerina stifled a giggle. 

"I can reach it!" Dollface stood on her toes, trying to get the camcorder off the top shelf, clearly unable to reach it. 

"You need me to get it for you?" Dollface shot her a glare.

"No-" She yanked Micah onto his hand and knees by his collar- "I got it." 

Micah winced and tensed up as his captor stepped on his spine. The months of torture had littered his back with dark violet bruises and shallow cuts. She, thankfully, wasn't very heavy, but she seemed to be intentionally pressing down harder on his wounds. Nothing Dollface ever did to him was gentle by anyone's standards, but this was downright inhumane. Just when he thought he had no pride left to crush, she found it, and she shattered it. 

It was a merciful relief when Micah felt her rising to her toes and eventually hopping off. His knees gave in, and he collapsed. Whimpering, he curled up in on himself, trying to make himself as small as possible. 

Without even a moment to catch his breath, his captor yanked him by the hair and practically dragged him across the room. At some point during the ordeal, the older man must have woken up. They sat face-to-face, a few feet apart. Micah couldn't tell if he was afraid or angry. But he could see one thing behind his eyes: pity. Sure, at this point, he was a bit of an eyesore. Starved and beaten half-dead. His face was still red from--

How much did he see? Micah didn't consider that this fully grown adult man may have witnessed him getting stepped on by a girl a full foot smaller than him. He had never been more humiliated. He needed to divert his attention, do something to take his mind off of it. 

The two girls did that for him. 

"Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another episode of 'Just Straight-Up Killing People!'" Kerina started enthusiastically at the camera, "Today, I am working with my good friend Dollface." 

"Hello. I've been in what, six of these? You know who I am by now." Dollface clearly wasn't as accustomed to the camera.

"And we are going to be playing a game! Well, at least, they are." She panned the camera to the boys, zooming in on them, "Don't be shy, introduce yourselves." 

"Uhm, m-my name i-is Micah." He started after a few seconds of silence and a deathly look from his captor. 

"I'm... I'm James." His voice was shaky. It was clear he was trying to seem unaffected, but it wasn't working. 

"James, here, is an awful person!" Kerina said a little too preppy, "He's a misogynist as well as racist! So he must have been pissed when he woke up to see me!"

"Micah, on the other hand," Dollface ran her delicate fingers through his matted hair, "is a little angel. Sweet and obedient. Perfect." 

"But to death, it doesn't matter if they deserve it or not." Kerina was still bouncing peppily. 

"Which is why we're going to let fate decide," Dollface began to speak. Her lips turned up into a sadistic smile, walking around the pair like a shark circling its prey, "these two are going to be playing cheat. Sure, it requires some skill, but for the most part, it's luck. 

"The rules are simple, really," She shuffled the deck over and over in her hand, "You place a card from your hand face down. Call out what the card is- queen of hearts, three of spades, whatever. Or, you could lie. At any point, your opponent can call you out. If they're right and you are lying, then you have to pick up every card on the table. If they're wrong, then they have to. The winner is the one who gets rid of all their cards first.

"And whoever wins gets to live." 

She cut the deck and dealt the cards out. Fifty-two cards determining if they live or die. Micah couldn't stop thinking about Ethan. He was left all alone, probably wondering where Micah could be. She never took them outside the basement, and it didn't make sense for her to start now. 

James looked so scared. Micah was too. It's impossible to hide from the truth that one of them is going to die. And for a moment, Micah thought that he wouldn't feel guilty winning. If what they said about him was true, then surely this man deserved it more, right? 

No. Doesn't matter who a person is or what they do- they are still a person. No one deserves to get murdered.

But his self-preservation told him that just this once, it was fine to be selfish. 

His nerves were out of control. He had been playing safe for the most part, but so was James. Neither dared to take a risk. But if Micah kept playing safe, he would lose. James went first. One card at a time, he would run out first. They would kill him, and Micah didn't want to die like this--

"Y-you're lying..." He was able to whimper out. The ensuing second was the longest he had ever experienced. His heart dropped when he saw James smile and flip the card. 

He was telling the truth. Tears fell down Micah's cheeks. It didn't pay off- he was sure he was going to lose- that he was going to die. 

But he had no choice than to keep playing. 

"King of diamonds." James placed another card. And that's when Dollface caught Micah's eye. She stood behind his opponent, barely out of camera frame. She had a clear sight of his hand. Making eye contact with him, she shook her head no. Even though Micah had no reason to believe her (in fact, he had several reasons not to), he did. 

"You-you're lying." He said for the second time. This time the man froze. Slowly, his trembling hand turned over the card. 

Ace of hearts. 

He was lying. Dollface was right- but why? Why would she help him cheat? For the first time in a long time, Micah felt relief. Because in some twisted way, she cared about him. And for some sick reason, wanted him to win. And by extension, she wanted him alive. 

Every once and a while, she would take a peek at his deck and tell Micah what to do. He was losing cards fast, and James was gaining them. It was pretty clear at this point that James was going to lose. He seemed to be in denial, desperate to put even one more card in Micah's hand. 

Micah was overwhelmed with a sense of comfort as he laid down his last card. And that's when James started crying. 

"No! Wait, please, give me a second chance! I don't want to die!" 

Guilt replaced his comfort the second he started begging. 

"Looks like Micah wins! You know what that means!" Kerina had an insidious look in her eye. A look that Micah recognized clearly. It wasn't over, "Hopefully, he doesn't have a problem finishing what he started..." 

A brief moment of confusion was cut off with dread as Dollface placed a butcher knife in his hand. 

"Oh, did we not mention that you'll be the one killing off the loser?" Dollface snickered. Kerina held James up, exposing his stomach and chest.

"Wait, don't do this. Come on, please, I have money, please, what do you want? I can get you anything--" Kerina quickly cut the trembling man off. 

"Why are you still pleading with me? I'm not the one holding the knife." He turned back to Micah, barely able to process the situation. 

"Kid, please, don't do this. You don't have to- we can fight back! You can fight back!" But he can't. He tried, but every time he did, he lost. He was hurt. No, not "hurt"- permanently, physically maimed. He couldn't fight back. He had no choice. 

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I can't," Now Micah was crying too. 

"Please, kid, I'm married, my wife is waiting for me!" He struggled against Kerina's grip. 

"I-I-I can't. Please-" He turned to Dollface, "-please, don't make me do this. Please, I-I can't..." 

"Sure you can," She pushed him forwards, "It's not hard, just hit him once in the chest. At this point, James was mumbling incoherent pleas. Micah tried to tune him out, but it wasn't working. The desperate begging and bargaining only made things worse- he didn't want to hurt him. At this point, his best chance of making him stop was--

And just like that, there was a knife between his ribs. Both were at a loss for words. Micah let go of the blade and stumbled backward. He was so dizzy, had no idea how to feel. James was bleeding out, he was dying, and it was all his fault. 

Kerina dragged the bleeding man to the camera and started talking into it, but Micah couldn't hear what she was saying; his ears were ringing too loud. 

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Dollface ran her fingers through his hair. "You should savor this moment. The first one should be memorable." In a sick way, her voice was comforting to him. Stumbling onto his knees and clinging to her waist. He couldn't stand to look at the dark red blood on his hands. 

He couldn't hear James wincing anymore. 

Someone is dead because of him. He was alive a few minutes ago- now he's not.


	4. Big Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dollface has some work to do.

Micah tended to zone out a lot these days. It was a small semblance of escapism and he'd take what he could get. Voices that he chose not to hear surrounded him as his body moved without his mind being present. 

“Anthony,” He came back to reality as soon as Dollface spoke to a much taller man in front of her, “Can you watch this one while I go talk to Nanoko. I doubt he could run either way but just to be safe.” Anthony. He recognized the name. This man was with her and Kerina when they shot him. Twice. He wasn't sure how much more pain he could take. He wanted to go home. As much as he hated to call that torture dungeon 'home', it was better than here. I wanted to be with Ethan. He wanted to hold his hand and cry into his shoulder and he wanted to feel less alone. 

“Yeah, of course baby sis.” He responded. His voice was deep and foreboding- not at all matching his words. Micah must have guessed right, they were siblings. He had a lot of time to think about it. Their vernacular was similar in a way that you could tell they grew up together. They has similar quirks with enunciation and tone. He was really running out of things to occupy his thoughts with, huh? 

“I’d hope so.” She sounded uncertain as she walked away. Now Micah was alone with this man. His fear began to fade when the man invited him to sit with him. The faintest amount, but still. He was showing the tiniest but of humanity, and that's more than he could say in a long time. 

“It’s been a while since you’ve used furniture, huh?” He asked casually, “Yeah, Dollie’s like that with her boys. Your name, by the way?” 

“M-Micah.” He was able to stutter out.

“Andy. I’m her older brother. Don’t worry, I’m not as crazy as her. I mean, I’m crazy, but not that crazy!” He laughed as if Micah was a friend to share banter with. Andy must have caught the fear and confusion in his eyes. “Hey, kid. Let me tell you a story about Dollie.” His tone softened slightly. It was unlike Dollface in the way that it didn't feel particularly fake. Pitiful for sure, this man didn't respect him, but it didn't feel disingenuous. Now that he thinks about it, Micah can't recall a time Dollface has been genuine- well, other than genuinely pissed. Everything about her was fake. Micah listened with undivided attention. He didn’t care what it was. He wanted to know something- anything- about the woman that was doing this to him. 

“I’m like five years older than her. So believe me when I say that from the moment she was born, she was the favorite child. Impressive, with the eleven of us. Our parents signed her up for a beauty pageant when she was six months old. She won and then things spiraled. She was forced to do one of those things at least monthly. I’m pretty sure they put her in a corset for three weeks straight after a loss once. She spent every moment making sure she was pretty." No wonder she’s so caught up on her appearance now. That’s one thing Micah noticed on his own. She was very careful to always look more than presentable. 

“Then she snapped. Our parents caught her mutilating some poor rodent. They basically said ‘fuck that’ and sent her away. One thing led to another and now you’re that rodent. Funny how things work. I think it’s called the butterfly effect. Eh, don’t quote me though.” 

Micah didn’t know how to respond. That was more than he was expecting. Either the story or the silence went on longer than he could tell, as Dollface came walking back into the room. Time to get back to the status quo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who didn't abandon this project crab rave


End file.
